Sound of Friends
There was a period when I wasn't doing particularly well.
I was working under enormous pressure. Several difficult things were happening at once, and I had practically no free time. I felt completely tied to my work.
At the same time, I was working on my master's in Innovation Management at UFABC in Brazil. It was another demand on top of everything else.
I asked Henry and Petter if they wanted to play anyway.
When I listen to this recording, I can hear that I'm playing differently.
I don't think I'm playing particularly well. But there's something very exposed about it.
It's not really what I'm playing that bothers me. It's how I'm playing.
The dynamics change quite a lot, partly because I sometimes feel that I'm playing too loudly. My playing is rather uncertain.
And yet, I think the music is beautiful.
It's incredibly spacious. The three of us are playing together, and even though my drumming is a little unsteady, everything somehow falls into place.
It isn't tight. But I wouldn't call it loose, either.
The entire piece comes from one uninterrupted recording. Nothing was planned. We were finding the music as we played.
It moves quietly, searching for different directions.
At around 4:19, something happens that suddenly reminds me of Bo Hansson's Sagan om ringen.
By 4:30, it's gone.
Around five minutes, something of that feeling returns, and the music begins to build.
At approximately 6:20, there's a crescendo that I find particularly special. It doesn't sound like something we've been working towards deliberately. We're still searching, even as the music becomes more intense.
And all of this is happening for the first time.
Around 7:45, the music changes character again. To my ears, it almost sounds like a schottis, or perhaps a very slow jig.
I think both Petter and Henry play extraordinarily well throughout this recording.
I don't remember very much about the evening itself, but I remember how grateful I felt. It was a dark time of year, and I felt the darkness pressing in. When I listen to this recording, though, it sounds light to me.
I named the piece Sound of Friends because I was genuinely grateful to have them in my life, and to be able to do things with them.
There's an enormous amount of trust between us in this music.
Only friends can sound like this.